Week Ending September 26, 2008

US

Trends we’ve noticed:

-- Feature in InformationWeek.
-- Fewer articles on enterprise topics.
Focus on organizations that are educating their members on how they can better use Second Life and virtual worlds.
-- Motley Fool discussed effects of the current US economy on Second Life’s economy.
-- Second Life is serving as an economical alternative to test for new products.
-- Numerous non-profit groups are holding more seminars educating people about Second Life.

Key Coverage:InformationWeek’s Mitch Wagner presents his in-depth piece on Second Life, following his briefing with Mark. He notes Mark’s commitment to improving the first-hour experience and calls his focus on key markets “encouraging.”

Re-post: Common Sensible blogs that InformationWeek’s piece on Second Life is solid and offers good and simple information for new and potential Second Life users.

Your Biz MSNBC – Considers Second Life a dynamic and interactive environment, great for entrepreneurs in follow-up coverage to the BusinessWeek SmallBiz cover story on virtual prototyping.

Fast Company – An article on the success of major companies using Second Life for marketing.

Metanomics’ – Robert Bloomfield has published excerpts from his interview with Philip, inviting several experts to comment on Linden Lab’s history and future.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:Investors – Article examining how Second Life is evolving from a place where residents shop, flirt, socialize or just hang out to an environment where large global companies such as Nissan and Sony BMG have built virtual storefronts, billboards or information booths.

EDUCATION Coverage:Kansas City Star -- Olathe Public Library will be holding a Second Life tour and training session for the public.

Government Technology -- MySpace, LinkedIn and Second Life have established new ways for members of their online community to interact. The government is starting to take advantage of these tools to promote anticrime block watches, neighbourhood disaster recovery groups and health education.

Marcom New Media -- The ‘Real Life Education in Second Life’ group is studying how to leverage the benefits of learning in a virtual world in order to assist the students of today. The group consists of more than 400 universities and 4,500 educators.

Sarah Musing – A post on growing excitement in the business community for using Second Life for meetings, conferences, skill development and problem solving scenarios.

University of Southampton - Many schools and professionals will participate in a Second Life Seminar on September 23 held by LATEU. They will focus on how educators can use Second Life for research.

CONSUMER Coverage:

InformationWeek – A look at what Second Life can and will do to attract new customers and expand their reach in virtual spaces.

IGN -- Vuzix VR920 software update will bring 3D stereoscopic video and head tracking to Second Life users.

Berkeley Daily Planet – The Berkeley Video and Film Festival Showcases will feature a unique virtual world film done in Second Life by George Aguilar.

Newsday.com - ‘Gary Unmarried,’ a new CBS show, will include a character that is trying to learn about the opposite sex through Second Life.

The Click Heard Round the World – A post that there will be a Second Life Obama Music Fest from September 27-28 in Second Life.JISC Service Group – A blog post that Andy Powell from Eduserve will be talking about how virtual worlds such as Second Life can be used to support events.

UK

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Focus on education and non-profit sector week, such as coverage of the Labour Party Conference, virtual hospitals, virtual religious worshipping, language benefits and music festivals within Second life.
-- Focus on use of Second Life to promote other technologies.
-- Coverage of the benefits of virtual worlds for employees training.

Key Coverage:Web User – The Manchester Labour party conference was run simultaneously in Second Life and raises the question of how the virtual world can be used to improve public service delivery.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

Computer Weekly – KPMG is going to use Unisfair technology to run a virtual recruitment fair. Second Life is mentioned as KPMG previously held in-world recruitment drives.

Macworld -- AT&T’s collaboration with various technology companies, and its use of Second Life to help test rogue attacks on AT&T products, are discussed.

TrainingZone.co.uk – Coverage of organisations’ use of online learning mediums and the resources for learning on web 2.0.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Web User – The Manchester Labour party conference was run simultaneously in Second Life and notes the potential of virtual worlds to improve public service delivery.

Times Online – The Civil Service Minister hosted their first conference meeting in Second Life.

Register – Full-sized hospitals are being created within Second Life by university students.

West Yorkshire Police – A press release, highlighting the success of its safety messages for students in Second Life.

Guardian Weekly –A language exchange project has been created by students from Dubai and South Korea in Second Life.

The Advertiser – A report on the ancient church that has been teleported into Second Life.

Times Online – Investigation of regular changes in our language, with words such as Second Life likely to be in the next issue of the Dictionary.

GERMANY

Trends we’ve noticed:

-- This week we’ve seen several articles in the adult consumer section.
-- Articles focusing on government-related activities in Second Life.
-- A very positive article published by German press agency, dpa, was picked up many times.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

Südwest Presse reported that Baden-Württemberg, one of Germany’s federal states, has left Second Life but is giving its space away for a creative laboratory.

Tagesspiegel -- An article about Berlin in virtual worlds and compares Germany’s capital in Twinity with its appearance in Second Life.

Focus online – An interview with a German state detective, where he talks about the ways the police is searching the Internet for criminal activities. He also mentions that there are policemen in Second Life.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Frankfurter Rundschau -- Approximately 60 to 70 online publications picked up German this very positive article about education in Second Life, based on an April interview with Philip.

ADULT CONSUMER Coverage:

Kieler Nachrichten – A positive article about a theater project from students of University of Lübeck and from a school. They successfully rearranged Shakespeare’s “A midsummer night’s dream”.

Computer Zeitung -- Coverage of a conference on legal aspects of the Internet and web 2.0, mentioning Second Life.

Gulli.com – A big party is planned in Second Life for music label FOEM. They have been active in Second Life for five years now and very successful.

FRANCE

Trends we’ve noticed:

--There were articles this week about virtual worlds use and their effect on people in real life.
-- Some blogs and publications focused on Saint Gobain in Second Life, and their “tree planting” initiative This week, the focus of some blogs and publication was on Saint Gobain on SL, and their “tree planting” initiative
-- Coverage of Second Life competitors (Home).
-- Articles about Second Life functionalities (scripts, SLim…).

Key Coverage:

Le Figaro’s blog – An article about video games figures revealed by Pew. 10% of real gamers use Second Life.

Gamopat published an article about the fact of gaining a new social life thanks to Home (Sony).

France 3D – A note about a course proposed on SL about typepad shortcuts.

Territoire digital -- Coverage of Taikogo Akina who build scripts and textures in Second Life.

JAPAN

Trends we’ve noticed:

-- Free and low-cost information services on the Internet are being used for business with impressive results. Moving-S is one of them and they have a branch in Second Life. The business magazine Weekly Diamond featured the company in an article and quoted Second Life in it.
-- Some media wrote about “The Making of Second Life” written by Wagner James Au. The viewpoint is so unique that it has attracted attention.
-- The news about SLim’s release on September 3rd and Direct Slurl post on September 18th appeared in the media.

Key Coverage:
Weekly Diamond (magazine, 9/27) – A feature article on Moving-S, a moving company made famous for its innovative use of the Internet. The article introduces many Internet services the company provides including a once-a-week online consulting and estimate service held at their branch store on Second Life. The company has so far had 5 real life jobs requested through its Second Life branch over the course of 2 years since opening the branch.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

Eizo Shimbun – Nippon Television Network (NTV) Corporation will be exhibiting Second Life-related activities at the IBC2008.

Asahi Shimbun, English – An advertisement appeared in this daily English newspaper simply showing a photo by the sea and “Bali Resort at Second Life, Keyword: Bali Resort.” The resort can be found by doing a search on Second Life.

Kagaku Shimbun – Linden Lab announced their new IM program “SLim”. By using SLim, residents of SL are able to communicate with text and voice without having to start up the SL viewer.

The Second Times – Linden Lab improved “SLurl”, enabling users to teleport from one SIM to the other more smoothly.

The Second Times – IBM built the Virtual Green Data Center on SL. Users can come here and understand more about Green IT.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Software Design – A feature article on the Open Source Conference 2008 held on August 8 in Nagoya. Hideo Yamazaki of Nomura Research Institute gave a presentation on the present and future visions of virtual worlds starting with Second Life.

CONSUMER Coverage:

FujiSankei Business i – An article introducing the book written by Wagner James Au, “The Making of Second Life: Notes from the New World.”

Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun - An article introducing the book written by Wagner James Au, “The Making of Second Life: Notes from the New World.” The article follows, “As SL evolves, the day mankind will live in two communities simultaneously is getting closer. This book will help us grasp that concept.”

Animage – A short review on SL by one of the magazine commentators. “First off, it’s very difficult to find another Japanese avatar. It also very difficult to adjust the default avatar to the looks you wish. It is easy to understand why SL lost its flame so fast. But more important than any of this, I can’t understand English.”

The Second Times– A Gothic all girls band “Skill Up” held a live concert at the EDO SIM on Second Life. The EDO SIM is currently holding an autumn festival.

The Second Time – The EDO SIM will start their annual monthly event starting tomorrow. This month is the autumn festival, “Tsukimi Matsuri.” The event will have entertainment such as archery games and live bands.

CIO – A blog article debating how capable SL is when utilized for business use. The article covers the issue from the POV of emergencies, from auditing companies, medical and several others.

Wired Vision - A blog article on “Sekai Camera” and its comparison to Second Life. The difference between “Augmented Reality = Sekai Camera” and “Virtual Reality = Second Life.”

Week Ending September 19, 2008

Key Coverage by Market

US

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Generally positive, with more coverage by local outlets and blogs.
-- Continued coverage in education, for training and recruitment purposes.
-- Several healthcare stories focused on Second Life as a tool for those with disabilities.
-- Coverage of the economy and improvements to the platform
-- Focus on the profit making opportunities in Second Life.

Key Coverage:

VentureBeat - Q&A with Mark, as a result of our influencer outreach, that focuses on topics including the leadership change, Linden Lab’s strategic focus, the improvements Mark wants to make in the first-hour experience and what he sees as the future of virtual worlds.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:Linux Insider – Article on dynamic profit making opportunities in virtual worlds, mentioning Second Life.

Mediacaster - Ontario Public Service Careers Island in Second Life was named the winner of the prestigious Innovation Merit Award Ontario for its unique use of Second Life.

Trading Markets - Wipro Technologies SOA lab on Second Life is used for collaborating with customers and partners, hosts virtual conferences and provides a platform for innovation in the spheres of technology and business transformation.

PC World - Second Life can be a powerful tool to recruit Gen Y talent.

NBC 8 KOMU -Missouri’s IT department is using Second Life to recruit young talent.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital is building a virtual replica of their hospital to help train its staff in preparation for large emergencies.

Brandon Hall Research - Centrax Corporation is helping Children’s Memorial Hospital use Second Life for emergency preparedness.

RFID Journal - University of Arkansas is creating a facility in Second Life for health-care organizations to test RFID implementations prior to physical deployment.

Voice of America News - Researchers are using virtual environments like Second Life as a resource to improve the living conditions of patients with physical or emotional disabilities.

Northern Star - Second Life provides an alternative method to engage the interests of students leading to more and more courses being offered in virtual spaces.

The Hippo - Covers a fundraiser held in Second Life to support a local drama school.

Gear Live - Several ministries in New Zealand have built churches in Second Life to engage the interests of younger members.

Dusan Writer - Organizers of the AIDS Program’s 2008 AIDS Ride for Life is using Second Life as a resource to reach out to a larger donor pool.

E-Commerce Times - Reports that like a “real-world” economy, the driving force behind Second Life’s economy is the demand for people’s need to have a stylish/lavish lifestyle.

Daily Trojan - Introduces Second Life as an activity for college students.

Linux Insider - Reports that residents in Second Life met in real life at the annual Second Life convention in Florida and discussed ways to better take advantage of what the virtual world has to offer.

Marketing Vox – Children’s and teenagers’ interest in virtual worlds is expected to jump from 34 percent in 2008 to 53 percent by 2011.

Tom’s Games - MMO’s and other environments like Second Life do not pose any real threat to national security.

Silicon Valley Insider - Google Lively will further differentiate itself from its competitor Second Life are focusing more on an “arcade” theme, mentioning Second Life.

Tech News World – The traditional model of virtual worlds like Second Life need to adapt to the growing interests of children.

UK

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- The coverage this week has been positive on the whole with only one negative article.
-- Some articles focused on Second Life’s use as a business tool.
-- A few articles discuss how Second Life is being used by educational establishments for research purposes.
-- More enterprise articles than last week.
-- Focus on importance of Second Life to the business and recruitment world.

Key Coverage:

Health Service Journal - Promotes the virtues of Second Life to medical research. Imperial College is mentioned as an example of a University using the virtual world.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

Key coverage:

silicon.com - Covers the ways in which Linden Lab is making Second Life more stable.

Times Online - Discusses the measures the IT industry is making in attracting female graduates. IBM is mentioned as using Second Life.

Personnel Today – Article states that younger people, ‘generation-Z’, are likely to offer employers a flexibility of approach so far unknown in the world of work, with their enthusiasm for virtual words.

Finextra.com – A report that retail banks are failing to embrace the benefits of web 2.0 technologies. Second life is mentioned as a site with potential for retail banks.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Guardian - A story about a man who had a stroke at 30, who now uses Second Life to showcase his digital art, and has sold his artwork with the help of virtual art galleries.

GERMANY

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Several positive articles appeared this week on enterprise.
-- Coverage of Second Life as a marketing tool.
-- A positive article about an Austria professor who is convinced of the success of virtual worlds.

E-Commerce Magazin - Two big articles about Second Life: A by-lined article about what marketing strategies are needed to be successful in Second Life, and the two page long interview with Jean and Paul Schmid from Freggers.de.

PC Welt – A report on a study which found out that financial institutes are not using web 2.0 technologies, including Second Life, due to security reasons.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Key coverage:

Computer Zeitung - An article about an Austrian professor who describes the hype cycle and that companies will use virtual worlds like Second Life more frequently, and that other possible uses of virtual worlds will be in the education and communication sector.

Klamm.de - A press release of the German company BEKO. They participate at a certain trade show but that the booth can already be visited in Second Life.

ADULT CONSUMER Coverage:

Key Coverage:

Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung - A philosophical article about fantasy. At every age group people dream and have fantasies, and the latest translation of fantasy happens in Second Life.

Weblin-Blog - A blog post about a user who teleported her Second Life avatar into a Weblin avatar.

FRANCE

Trends we’ve noticed:

-- Articles about the future of virtual worlds, about Second Life competitors and functionalities (scripts, SLim).
-- Focus on Second Life use for training.

Key Coverage:

Generation-nt - Published a dedicated article about SLim.MaconSL - Blog post about the future virtual world “Blue Mars”, with mention of Second Life.

Mon BizNetBlog - A note about the evolution of virtual worlds according to what was said in Virtual World Expo in L.A. and Second Life convention in Tampa.

Paris Match - An article about the fact of having an aquarium at home. With a mention of Tetra on Second Life.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Timmiat blog – About the experience in Quebec during the group’s Architecture Study. Mentions a project on which he will have to attend courses on SL and built places on SL.

CONSUMER Coverage:

Key Coverage:
Informer- autrement - An article about INOP 2008, a meeting about Public innovation and electronic administration. A conference about 3D representations and virtual worlds will be broadcasted on Second Life the 24th September on métalab3D on Second Life.

Gromike - Blog post about the creation of Aphrodite’s temple in Second Life.

Ecolonet - Blog about best ecological practices on the web and mentions that a user of SL consumes as much power as a Brasilian.

Inworlds - A note about fashion on Second Life and particularly about Elemiah Design.

Fant’asie - Blogger posted a note about the future adaptation by HBO of the serial “Trône de fer”, and mentions Second Life as the place where David Benioff and Dan Weiss talked about the project in June 2007.

Vade-mecum - Post on the island created to promote the new book of Terry Pratchett.

FredCavazza – A note about Motorhead in association with Mindark to launch Entropia Universe. Mention of Second Life because numerous artists have already offered a concert on it.

Media critique - A note about a conference in Second Life about “Freedom not fear”.

3dxplorer - Posted an article about the partnership between Cube3 and Altadyn (Mention of Second Life as cube 3 has designed lots of place in SL).

Top referer’s - Posted a note saying that Terry Pratchett will promote its new book.

Weekly REPORT: w/c September 15, 2008

JAPAN

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Almost all articles were positive last week.
-- Recently most new businesses in Second Life were small, medium-sized and local companies. However, Konica Minolta Holdings’ “Konica Minolta Area 5151” is a big company’s new SIM, the first in a while and the company has entered SL to enhance its corporate image, not for product marketing and promotion. We should watch its future progress.
-- Environmental benefits of Second Life and virtual worlds.
-- Universities and colleges that have been utilizing Second Life for their research and classes are increasing.

Key Coverage:

Nihon Jimuki Shimbun (newspaper, 9/8) – Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. opened “Konica Minolta Area 5151”, a SIM on Second Life.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

ZDNet – A portal website for Second Life and 3Di related news, “The Second Times” has registered on the eco friendly Internet service “green sight license” provided by RAUL Inc.

EDUCATION Coverage:Techinsight japan - Takarazuka University of Art and Design held their annual school festival in both real and Second Life.

CONSUMER Coverage:

Nishi Nippon Shimbun (newspaper, 9/5) – The “Tenjin Blue Moon Festival”, a fashion show on Second Life, will be held on the 23rd of September.

The Daily Yomiuri (newspaper, 9/7) – An article on the expanding business of online “gold-farmers” in East Asia, farming and selling online currencies used in MMOGs such as World of Warcraft, and Second Life, for those players who don't have time to spend 8 hours a day in front of their computers.

The Second Times – An article introducing “Frenzoo”, a new Second Life like metaverse.

The Second Times – Metabirds Co., Ltd. which runs metaverse portal website “SLMaMe,” started a metaverse-related employment search website called “SLMaMe Work”.

The Second Times – A clothing store from Kobe Japan, “Tokimeki Alice,” celebrated their first year since starting business and opened a branch store on Second Life.

The Second Times – Japanese television program recorded on Second Life and broadcast on real life television, “Digital no Konjo” joined the International Broadcasting Convention held in Amsterdam from the 12th to the 16th of September.

The Second Times – A live rock concert will be held on the “Fontana Music Town” SIM, known to Second Life users as the holy ground of classical music.

Week Ending September 12, 2008

US

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Generally positive, especially in the growing educational sector.
-- Limited coverage from national media outlets; more coverage by local media.
-- Entrance of more competitors like Hangout.net.
-- More corporate adoption of Second Life.
-- Local education coverage.
-- Sociological studies conducted in Second Life.

Key Coverage:

Indianapolis Star - The Kelley Executive Program at Indiana University will open an island in Second Life to enhance their training program and provide a low cost alternative for students.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

Linux Insider - In an interview with Parks Associates’ Michael Cai, he says he expects corporations to invest heavily in virtual worlds like Second Life in the future.

itBusiness - Businesses are turning to virtual worlds like Second life to help their recruiting efforts of top young talent.

Quickly Bored - Vollee’s mobile beta app for Second Life Residents has been a great success.

Venture Beat - Hangout differentiates itself from Second Life by targeting users with low end computers, which lack capacity to run Second Life.

Massively - A discussion with Madeleine Albright on the demands of the 21st century will be streamed in Second Life. Also, this event will help the University of Texas launch the school’s new Master of Global Policy Studies degree.

Mind Blizzard - Terry Pratchett, author of the comedy Discworld series, will make an appearance in a Second Life island.

ADULT CONSUMER Coverage:

The Industry Standard - Second Life will make advertising forbidden on the “Linden Mainland” unless users have a written licensing agreement with Second Life.

Tampa Bay Online - Second Life residents will have an opportunity to meet one another in person at SLCC.

St. Louis Business Journal - St. Louis is one of the first cities in the U.S. to develop a virtual replica of the city on Second Life.

World Changing - Argues that virtual worlds like Second Life create new forms of interaction to the extent that users from different cities, countries or even continents can intermingle and form their own online community.

PR.com - Virtual Worlds Press Club plans to release a media directory of if media outlets that are in virtual worlds like Second Life. This will give advertisers and journalist a resource to decide which medium fits their needs.

UK

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Coverage has been positive on the whole with only one negative article. A very positive piece was in Computer Weekly.
-- There has been more coverage than last week.
-- A number of the articles focus on Second Life’s business uses.
-- There has been discussion of the ability to communicate to other Second Life Residents both in and out of world.

Key Coverage:

Computer Weekly - Second Life users can now communicate both in and out of world.

Blase2Null - A German blogger writes sarcastically about Twinity. Most of the German bloggers don’t see anything new coming up with this new virtual world.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

Key coverage:

PC Welt - IBM’s new collaboration tool called Sametime 3D is well suited for open sim environments and 3D platforms like Second Life. This news was picked up by most of the PC magazines.

E-Commerce Magazin - A short news piece about a cooperation between the University of Heilbronn and the software company Businessmart. They want to explore the potential of Second Life for marketing, especially for lifestyle and fashion products.

Peter Bosetti - A German blogger reports that there are already 100 virtual worlds in the Internet, hosting over 300 Million people.

Computer Zeitung - An article about Phil McKinney from HP who predicts that 3D worlds like Second Life will be the main collaboration tool of the future.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Key coverage:

Focus online - Article about psychological research in Second Life, where the scientists found out that the social behavior of people doesn’t change in the Internet compared to real life.

ADULT CONSUMER Coverage:

Magnus.de – Comparison of Google’s Lively to Second Life in its surf tips, stating that Google tries to separate from the “commercial” Second Life.

Der Westen - About two Second Life Residents who lived next door to each other and ended up writing children’s books together.

FRANCE

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Talk of SLim’s release.
-- Overall outlook is averages this week.
-- Some positive articles about companies in Second Life (such as IBM, TETRA).
-- Posts about expositions and galleries in SL.

Elbakin.net - A news piece about the promotional campaign of Random House Group on SL.

Weekly REPORT: w/c September 8, 2008

JAPAN

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Articles and quotes are positive this week.
-- The media, particularly IT related publications, tend to write about new products and technologies that have a high probability of becoming popular and setting off new trends. SLim is one such topic.
--SLim is a major current topic—9 stories total covering SLim release.
-- Chugoku Shimbun wrote that some big car manufacturers had entered SL in order to regain Japanese young generation’s interest in car culture.
-- Emphasis on education initiatives, with Tokyo University’s recent project in Second Life.

Key Coverage:

ITmediaNewsBB WatchYahoo! Japan News - Linden Lab released “SLim”, their new Instant Messaging system. “SLim” will enable Second Life users to enjoy voice and text chatting between users without having to launch the SL program.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

Chugoku Shimbun (newspaper, 8/27) – An article on the Japanese youth generation losing their attachment to car culture, and the effort of car companies to regain it. Companies such as Toyota, Nissan and General Motors have created SIMs on Second Life, which the article describes as “an online 3D virtual world popular among youth.”

EDUCATION Coverage:

The Second Times – Tokyo University is accepting applications for the second Second Life Collaborative City Planning Project.

The Second Times – Hideko Ikegami, professor at The New School University, presented a paper comparing Second Life to the people’s culture of the Edo Era in Japan.

ADULT CONSUMER Coverage:

Dengeki Playstation (magazine, 9/12) – It was thought that no matter how much time was spent on video games, virtual currency would never cross over to real life. Those days have changed, and now the time and effort you spend on video games will actually come through to real life. Take SL for example, where you can exchange their virtual currency (L$) into real money, and rumor has it that there are people making lots of it.

The Second Times – Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo starts September 3rd (U.S. time zone). 3Di, Inc. will be giving a presentation on “Avatar Portability” and the “3Di Open Viewer”.

The Second Times – The Jazz and Art Festival will be held on Second Life October 17th to November 14th. During the 30 days of the event there will be many jazz musicians from around the world performing on 4 SIMs and art exhibitions in 4 galleries.

PR Times - Alaska, a long established restaurant that has been in business more that 80 years, has opened a new branch on SL.

PR Times - Yamanaka-tei, a fish store that sells fresh fish from the Japanese sea to top-class hotels and restaurants as well as individual customers, opened a store on SL. They are planning to enable the purchase of fresh fish through SL using L$ in the future.

PR Times - Famous wine retailer specializing in German wines, Nicholas Japan, has opened a virtual winery and retail store on SL.

Yahoo! Japan News – Korean Coffee shop franchise “Java City” opened a store on SL. They will be handing out coupons usable in real life.

Week Ending September 5, 2008

US

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Overall positive press, though minimal coverage from larger publications.
-- Focus on SLim’s release, the success of Vollee and the potential impact of Global Kids investment into Second Life.
-- Second Life is seen as to competing w/ Cisco’s Telepresence platform.
-- Health care providers are branching out into Second Life; Second Life is being implemented as a training tool for employees of various industries.
-- More coverage in the consumer sector compared to previous weeks due to the release of new tools for Residents.

Key Coverage:

CNET - CIO Series interview with Joe, in which he describes SL’s use for enterprise collaboration, the success of voice in-world, and the benefits of open sourcing the viewer.

Mashable – Positions SLim as a response to There.com’s launch of external IM, but also as an exciting step forward for virtual worlds.

Marketing Vox - Linden Labs will release SLim, a lightweight client that will enable instant messaging and voice chat between the real world and Second Life.

Beta news - Linden Labs and Vivox are releasing SLim, a messaging (VoIP/IM) client that complements onscreen interactions or can communicate with others not necessarily running the Second Life application.

Massively reports that Linden Lab is yanking SLim from its website temporarily due to some connection problem.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:The Industry Standard - Second Life can be a cost effective solution for small companies on a tight budget.

NextGov - Agencies interested in conducting business in virtual worlds can watch a video online about how the National Defense University's Information Resources Management College invested in Second Life.

Virtual world News - Virtual Job Candy is launching a space in Second Life for employers and job seekers in the virtual worlds and 3D design industries to hold interviews and job fairs and prepare for virtual interviews.

MIMigasite reports that Digitell is releasing an electronic meetings venue called Virtual Convention Center to compete against Second Life in the enterprise sector of virtual worlds.

EDUCATION Coverage:

ihealth Beat - Health care professionals are using Second Life for a variety of purposes, including hosting continuing medical education sessions and actually seeing patients for group or individual sessions.

School Library Journal – An article recommending that schools should invest in virtual worlds like Second Life as a new medium for learning.

Virtual World News - Second Life can help boost the scores of trainees, as evident with the 28% increase in scores by the Canadian Border Guard Training program.

Global Kids reports that Global Kids Online will begin a Second life Curriculum tour for educators interested in implementing virtual worlds at their school.

NY Blueprint - Independent developers have constructed a Second Life Israel that includes all the famous landmarks from the real world country.Dusan Writer - Linden Lab will be pushing collaboration and education at the LA Conference discussing our partnership with Rivers Run Red Immersive Workspaces, Global Kids and San Diego State University.

Mind Blizzard – Article states that Second Life is becoming a great medium to train employees.

Designing Digital – The American Business College and American Business High School are being built within Second Life.

CONSUMER Coverage:

CNBC reports that Vollee, a 3D streaming provider, is seeing great success with its mobile open beta application for Second Life as evident in the mass amounts of downloads.

Wired - There.com will also release Facebook plug-ins and new instant messaging applications to compete with Second Life.

Venture Beat - There.com will begin supporting the MAC OS, comparing it to Second Life.

Project Chainsaw - Second Life is doing a great job of creating a world that enables virtual proximity, especially in real estate.

UK

Trends we’ve noticed:

-- Mixed coverage, positive articles discussing the place platforms such as Second Life have in the corporate world.
-- Discussion of the importance of Second life to the corporate world and the benefits Second Life brings to educational establishments.
-- Second Life being used for higher education, including research and teaching.
-- More articles than last week and more focus on corporate benefits of the virtual word.
-- Focus on educational activities within the virtual world.

Key Coverage:

Birmingham Post - Discusses the international conference being held in the city to promote the uses of virtual worlds in business.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:Birmingham Post - International conference being held in the city is promoting the uses of virtual worlds in business.

CCF Online - Consumers of the future will demand to interact with contact centers.

Director of Finance online - Analysis of the predicted continual growth of digital media companies and the expansion of virtual worlds such as Second Life.

Digital Arts - Discusses the place virtual worlds have in the corporate world.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Citywire - University of Houston has purchased land in Second Life so students can enjoy better facilities.

Medic Exchange - University of Arkansas researchers are using Second Life to model efficient health care delivery.

CONSUMER Coverage:

London Review of Books – Review of the book Move your head and the picture changes which discusses issues of privacy and publicity online in areas such as Second Life.

blog.iwr.co.uk - An Interview about blogging. The interviewee is a regular reader of the Second Life blog.

The Times – Article about ‘gold farming’ within online platforms. Second Life is mentioned as an activity that has millions of devotees.

Develop – Discussion of why some games developers have been slow to develop user-made content. Second Life is described as being way ahead at developing these opportunities.

GERMANY

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Google Lively has been picked up by two articles, one saying that Lively rekindled interest in virtual worlds and the other saying that Lively is dead, unlike Second Life.
-- New e-learning and translation services appeared

Key Coverage:

Heute.de - Article about how alive virtual worlds are. The author mentioned that it has become quiet around Second Life but that it is still very much alive.

IT-Times.de - Lively has failed to attract the interest of users, unlike platforms like Second Life or World of Warcraft.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

Ostseeklick.de Article about solution provider Second Interest which has started to create content for Twinity formerly created content for Second Life.

Handelsblatt.com - A list of several scientific papers which can be downloaded in the Internet and one deals with business models in Second Life.

Oliver Gassner - German media expert on Web 2.0 interviewed in a podcast about the marketing potential of virtual worlds.

E-Punkt – Article about the “Natural Language Translation" from IBM, a translation software running in Second Life.

FRANCE

Trends we’ve noticed:
-- Overall mood of this week’s press is good and coverage has been positive.
-- Some articles about SL, Open Sim, Mono and new virtual worlds such as VSide.
-- Some positive articles about companies on SL (such as Peugeot or Didorel Parquet).
-- Coverage presents VR Wear, a company proposing to go further than the simple use of Virtual Worlds. They propose to create facial recognition on SL and its avatars.
-- Questions raised about technologies and their affect on people, and the future of Second Life in terms of tourism.

Key Coverage:

Virtual World News - Article about the possible arrival of viruses and Trojans on virtual worlds like SL. This article is built on last McAfee report.

Vagabondages - Proposes a video of other virtual worlds than Second Life.

Le blog du corps - Article about the interaction of Informatics with our corps and our home. The article explains that it is going to invade our lives and that Second Life is just the first example of that.

Projet Galaxie Oeil Noir - A note about Builder Helper, Java Tool helping to create houses an other structures on Second Life.

dé signes - Blog proposes a note about the incompatibility of Lively and Google Chrome and that Second Life is not accessible through the new google navigator.

La Tribune de Geneve - Article about the expansion of Liberta, the European continent on Second Life.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

MetroFrance - Article about the future of Virtual Worlds and particularly with companies such as VR Wear, which is working on facial recognition on Second Life.

Veille Techno – A post about Volkswagen website “Beautiful Place” looking a bit like Second Life. The blogger also mentions a design contest organized by Peugeot on Second Life.

Econologic - A note about the arrival of Didorel Parquet on Second Life via Liberta Island.

Stonefield Inworld - An article about the use of Virtual Worlds to get trained. Mention of Second Life and VR Wear, the company trying to create avatars’ movements with the movements of the user own body.

axdo - A note specifying that Barack Obama has been on Second Life and that if he is elected he will be the first resident who would have used virtual world during its campaign.

Le journal du 3eme Millenaire - A note about VR Wear, a company working on facial recognition on Second Life. Movements of your avatar would start with the real player movement.

Techoman - Post about VR Wear, a company working on facial recognition on Second Life. Video is also available.

Gromike - Note on the possibility to learn how to use JAVA thanks to Second Life.

Tribune de Geneve - Article about the company Didorel Parquet which implements itself on Second Life via Liberta Island.

CONSUMER Coverage:

E-commerce, Web2.0 et e-tourisme - News about the possibility of a tourism 3.0 thanks to virtual world such as Second Life. Numerous hotels are already present on SL and some tourism offices are building themselves.

Sun 3000 - Blog posted a note about the arrival of the artist Mer Dreier in the Amani Gallery on Second Life.

bim manners - Post about Come in my World, a new concept between Second Life and meetic.

Mondes virtuels - Note about the Ramadan in Second Life set up by IslamOnline.net.

JAPAN

Trends we’ve noticed:<br
-- Almost all articles and quotes are positive.
-- Discussion of future possibilities of Second Life and virtual worlds.
-- Japanese business, industry and media believe that virtual worlds and Second Life are the front-runners for best new IT trends.
-- Monthly ASCII’S dialogue is favorable for Second Life because it mentions that SL is a Web 2.0 trend, a view beyond the virtual world image of SL.

Key Coverage:
Denkei Shimbun (newspaper, 8/25) – Feature article on metaverses – referred to as the new trend in the Internet world. The general perception of metaverses is that they are an extension of video games in which you control an avatar and play in a virtual setting. But the essence is in filling the gap between Internet and the possibilities of reality. For example, there are online bookstores. However, you can only order a book online by first knowing what you want to buy, whereas in reality you can let serendipity lead you to new finds.

ENTERPRISE Coverage:

News2u.net – Splume Corporation will offer new promotional contents starting the 1st of September where they will open the virtual rooms of Japanese idols to users. Users can visit their rooms as though in real life.

The Second Times – METABIRDS has started providing a service which enables you to upload blogs to your own domain through “SLMaMe”, a blog portal website service METABIRDS provides specifically on the topic of metaverses such as Second Life.

Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun (newspaper, 8/28) – A large feature article analyzing exactly what SL is. The article concludes that there is criticism that SL has lost momentum but the addition of “open source” to its original equation of “3D + Internet” will open new paths. In addition, there is much potential in the expansion of terminals through which SL can be accessed, for example the merging of 3D Internet and digital broadcasting is one example, but there is more potential to come with the evolution of 3D Internet.

GIZMODOjapan - Shapeways has started a service where you can send via e-mail a 3D image, and they will create and send you a real life sculpted version of that image. The technology is still being perfected but there are many possibilities ahead, such as sending in 3D items or avatars from Second Life.

Japan.Internet.com – Japanese new and used car sales company Uchida Auto hosted a music event on Second Life aimed at automobile fans.

The Second Times – UNY Co., Ltd. is holding a contest for a concept video using Second Life for their new private brand Demi Etage.

EDUCATION Coverage:

Monthly ASCII pt.2 (magazine, October) – A dialogue between Tsuguhiko Kadokawa and Lawrence Lessig on the future of business. Web 2.0 became what it is now based on three types of economic activities. First came the basic commercial economy, second came the “sharing economy” seen in “Wikipedia” exchanging values other than money, and third is the “hybrid economy” seen in Second Life whereby currency and new ideas and values from individual users are both being exchanged.

ADULT CONSUMER Coverage:

Monthly ASCII pt.1 (magazine, October) – A feature article on the shifting of trends, from “3D metaverse services” like SL, to “online avatar services.” Rather than separate individual metaverses, the trend now is to browse existing web2.0 contents through the body of an avatar rather than straight through the PC monitor in order to gain a more realistic and lively sensation.

25ans (magazine, October) – 25ans community on Second Life held its annual bridal photo contest. The winner received 3,000 L$.

The Second Times –“Medicam2008”, a film contest for students, will be held on Second Life from August 28th to the 30th.

The Second Times – A club in Roppongi “Hana-Matsuri” will open a store on Second Life. The owner of the club is planning to login as well.

CNET Japan - A blog article talking about the loss of influence TV once had on culture. Instead, media such as YouTube and Second Life, in which there are more user participation and activity compared to the more passive television, will start having more influential power.

CNET Japan – Second Life was mentioned in a blog article about the “digital divide,” a discrepancy between people who are capable of accessing and using the Internet and people who are not. There is also a discrepancy between Internet users who are not familiar with web2.0 services such as Second Life.

ASCII.jp– The largest virtual reggae festival was held on SL on August 30th and 31st.